Box for toilet articles, c. 1745, 6 1/4 x 10 1/8 x 7 5/8 in. ( x x cm), Tortoise shell, gold inlay (box) and glass (bottles), Italy, 18th century, This tortoise shell perfume bottle container is fashioned with a piqué technique. The shell was boiled and softened, then shaped and decorated with sheets of gold that locked in place as the shell hardened. This technique was introduced in 16th-century Naples, but soon spread to northern Europe and remained fashionable throughout the 19th century. The shell typically derived from hawksbill sea turtles found in tropical coral reefs

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Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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